“Waste of food” — Singaporean complains that throwing away food offerings in the ghost month is treating “food like garbage”

SINGAPORE: A Singaporean netizen is catching heat online for calling ghost month food offerings a “waste of food.”

Posting on the Facebook group Complaint Singapore on Monday (Sept 2), the Singaporean aimed the tradition of offering food to spirits believed to be wandering in the human realm during the ghost month (Zhong Yuan Jie).

In his post, he shared a photo of five plates of food on the ground and asked others online: “Is it considered a waste of food?”

He then implied that Singaporeans take food for granted while people in other parts of the world struggle. “Palestinians find it difficult to get a meal, and Singaporeans treat food like garbage,” he wrote.

Moreover, he had an issue throwing away food after the ritual. He questioned why it’s considered “unlucky” to keep the food and suggested that those who discard it might be too “superstitious.”

Riled up by the post, many netizens jumped into the comments section to defend the Ghost Month tradition. They argued that the ritual holds significant cultural and religious importance and should not be dismissed as “superstitious.”

Critics of his post believed that his comments showed a lack of respect for cultural practices and failed to appreciate the deep-rooted beliefs that underpin these traditions.

One netizen pointed out, “These were offerings to ancestor’s spirits and related to beliefs. So better not to comment on such things.”

Another netizen warned, “If you don’t know anything about our Chinese culture, I urge you to delete this post before you get attacked by others!”

Several netizens also questioned why the Palestinians were brought into the discussion, stating that dragging a particular race or country seemed irrelevant and inappropriate.

One netizen commented, “What does Palestinian affairs have to do with us? What does praying have to do with such? There are lots of people without food in the world every day, and what could we do? You can’t help everyone; it’s impossible.”

Another echoed this sentiment and stated, “Please don’t bring the Palestinians into this. 7th month prayer is done every year whether you like it or not. There is something brewing around the globe every day. You think we Singaporeans waste food.

Why don’t you question big chains importing perishables and food that expires easily? Where do these go?”

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